Next March, Turkish Airlines will resume flights between its Istanbul Airport hub and London Stansted. This addition marks the airline's sixth UK airport, joining its existing services to Heathrow and Gatwick. The announcement follows Royal Air Maroc's recent inauguration of flights to a third London-area airport.
Turkish Airlines previously operated at Stansted from 2005 to 2009 when Atatürk was Istanbul's main airport. After leaving Stansted, the airline switched to Gatwick in 2011. Meanwhile, AnadoluJet (now AJet) began service from Sabiha Gökçen to Stansted in 2010. The gap left by Turkish Airlines' departure allowed Atlas, now defunct, to start flights from Atatürk to Stansted in 2012.
The airline will return to London's third-busiest airport by passenger traffic on March 18, 2026. Initially operating ten weekly flights, the frequency will increase to fourteen weekly on March 29 as airlines transition to summer schedules based on IATA slot seasons.